First up before I go any further I just want to say that it's a pretty damn scary thought that the infamous Star Trek: Beyond trailer might have actually accomplished something meaningful, so much so that I'm still tempted to chalk it up to coincidence rather than any kind of real planning.
As we all know this year marks the 50th anniversary of Star Trek, something CBS and Paramount keep telling us over and over again without actually seemingly doing anything to mark this massively significant milestone in the history of Star Trek. For most of us the best we have to look forward to is Star Trek: Beyond, a film that will no doubt provide a decent return at the box office but has so far done nothing to indicate it is the film that Star Trek fans actually want either as another instalment in the beloved franchise or as the 50th anniversary movie.
Simon Pegg as Scotty.When I first heard that Simon Pegg was going to be involved in the screenplay for Star Trek: Beyond I took it as a good sign, Pegg after all is the sort of person that genuinely understands what it is about franchises like Star Trek and Star Wars that fans actually enjoy. Then came the revelation that his first screenplay had been thrown out by Paramount for being 'too Star Trek' and my hopes collapsed, the 50th anniversary of Star Trek and Paramount saying no to a script for being too Star Trek, that's just wrong.If a new, and as yet un-published interview with Simon Pegg and Justin Lin by Empire is anything to believe perhaps Star Trek: Beyond won't be so devoid of Star Trek as Paramount seems to want.
The story starts up with the Enterprise crew a couple of years in to their historic five year mission with the trek starting to take it's toll on the crew. “They’ve come to rest at a Federation outpost, a sort of diplomatic hub,” explains Pegg, of course R&R doesn't go as planned and shortly after arriving is when things start to go wrong courtesy of Krall, the menacing blue skinned alien antagonist portrayed by Idris Elba. Krall, a member of a new Star Trek species, apparently has some perfectly justifiable issues with the Federation which he decides to settle the old navy way, first guy to die loses.
“What’s the point of it all?” is the question Pegg says is driving Kirk and the rest of the Enterprise crew this time out. “We’re gathering a great community within the galaxy, but to what end? What does it all mean?”. “This is the 50th anniversary." Lin adds "I felt like it was important to really de-construct the idea of Star Trek, the idea of the Federation and why it’s special. We’ll really be poking at a lot of different things.”
I don't know about you but just either one of those quotes seem to contain more Star Trek than the two prior films added together and all of a sudden I'm feeling much more positive about Star Trek: Beyond, whilst it is unlikely to be in the same league as The Wrath of Khan or The Undiscovered Country, Star Trek: Beyond could yet right some of the wrongs of the reboot movies.
What do you think, is Star Trek: Beyond going to be the best of a bad bunch or could it get the Star Trek movie franchise back on track with some genuinely Star Trek issues being properly explored?
